Bangladesh – promising market for Vietnamese travel firms

Visitors at the Vietnamese booth in the Bangladesh International Travel and Tourism Fair 2018 (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese travel companies should
pay more attention to the Bangladeshi market, while fostering cooperation with
Bangladeshi partners to design tours suitable to both Vietnamese and
Bangladeshi people, thus increasing the number of visitors to each other’s
country, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Tran Van Khoa.

The diplomat said that leaders of Vietnam and
Bangladesh have agreed to open a direct air route linking the two countries and
the plan is being considered by relevant agencies.

Bangladesh, with a population of over 160 million,
rapid economic growth and an increasing number of people with high incomes, is
becoming a promising market for Vietnamese tourism companies.

However, the number of enterprises entering this
market has remained few. According to Nguyen Hong Van, Director of the ATE
Vietnam Ltd., one of the reasons behind this fact is high prices of tours due
to the lack of a direct air route between the two countries as well as
information about the market.

She said that as part of efforts to penetrate the
market, ATE Vietnam participated in the Bangladesh International Travel and
Tourism Fair 2018, which ran from April 19-21 in Dhaka.

Many visitors showed their interest in the Vietnamese
booth which introduced Vietnam’s popular tourist destinations such as Ha Long
Bay, Ninh Binh, Sa Pa, Nha Trang and Mui Ne.

Muhammad Rezaul Karim, General Director of
Bangladesh’s Sky Holidays Company, said that he traveled to many places in
Vietnam such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang and he was the most
impressed at the UNESCO-recognised heritage site of Ha Long Bay.

Vietnamese firms have great business opportunities in
Bangladesh as Bangladeshi people have warm sentiments towards Vietnam, he said,
adding that more Bangladeshi people are travelling abroad.

The International Travel and Tourism Fair is the
biggest of its kind in Bangladesh, which is held annually. This year, the event
was participated by travel firms from various countries including China, India,
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and
Maldives.-VNA